Seems as though Most Wanted was a little vain by EA... should have been Kinda Wanted
The gameplay is horrible. The cars drive just a tad looser than those in the Ridge Racer series... which basically means good luck steering. And the controller options you get to choose from are just as rigid... lacking a much-needed custom control set-up. I can't remember how many times I pressed the "E-Brake" button ("X" on setup 6) trying to go in reverse, when you have to hold down the left trigger which is the brake/reverse button. That's about the only time the cops even get close enough to lie about catching you... when you're fumbling around trying to figure out how to control your lackluster "racer".
The graphics are the only part of the game worth noting... with the exception of the ugly FMV cut-scenes. You would have thought by now video games would have moved beyond FMV cut-scenes, seeing as though they're usually crap and are laced with actors who failed grade school drama class. But, the in-game graphics are nice... the car models look great. They could have toned down the sun a little bit. I drive home enough in the afternoons with the sun blinding me, I'd rather my video games didn't subject me to the same torture. People have enough realism in every-day life... I'm sure no one would have said anything negative about having a "just for looks" sun, instead of a more "real" sun. I'm not too thrilled about the fact that the Underground series has much more customization options for your ride than Most Wanted. That was the whole appeal of NFS:U... so if they're going to use that in NFS:MW, then they should expand on the customization, not cut down on it.
Speaking of NFS:U... the storyline for Most Wanted seems familiar to those of you who played both Underground games... except this time you have to throw in being a criminal along with your street racing. That makes the replay value close to zero, cause you've pretty much done this in NFS:U 1 & 2. So once evading piggies loses its flavor, then you'll be yawning in no time... which is about 1 1/2 - 2 hours into the game. Race stupid amounts of similar races, increase your bounty by making donkeys out of the po-po, and while you're doing that, you'll more than likely achieve your "milestones", and then you'll be able to race the next egotistical loser on the "blacklist". And their egos are blown out of proportion, because you'll easily smoke them every time. I had more trouble on some of the regular races than I did against these "elite".
Overall, its a rental at most. Don't waste your hard earned green on buying it... you'll probably wind up back at the store you bought it from coming up with ANY excuse so they'll be generous enough to refund your money.